The global energy transformation and what it means for central Queensland were the focus of the state government's regional community forum held at Agnes Water on Monday.
One of seven second round forums conducted around the state, it gave the Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen and Minister for Public Works and Procurement Mick de Brenni an opportunity to provide an update on energy projections for the central region.
Queensland Country Life spoke exclusively with Mr de Brenni on Monday morning before the forum.
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Mr de Brenni said government forecasting showed that to keep up with changes in the global economy, three times as much energy generation as is currently available in Queensland would need to be built by 2035.
"That'll power industries, homes and transport fleets of tomorrow, meaning that we need around 25,000 megawatts of new renewable energy," he said. "On average, each day in Queensland there is only 8000 megawatts, so it's a significant growth."
Primary producers were also a main focus of the forum, with skyrocketing fuel and energy prices having an impact on the agriculture industry.
Mr de Brenni said addressing issues such as global energy and climate change were key to supporting the industry.
"We know that Queensland farmers have been bearing the brunt of both climate change and exposure to international energy markets," he said.
"We only need to look at the recent years' spate of natural disasters - think fire, flood, drought, and then add on top of that skyrocketing energy and fuel prices.
"It really demonstrates that we need to act to support regional Queensland, particularly the agricultural sector, to make sure that that global energy and climate challenge becomes our real jobs opportunity and our economic growth opportunity.
"We have a competitive edge here in central Queensland. We've got the best resources, we've got the best people and the opportunity for us is to deploy them in front of this energy transformation and make sure it delivers for central Queenslanders."
Mr de Brenni said future opportunities for the region's energy transformation included gas, wind, and solar.
"We need more energy than ever before here in Queensland and we need it from more sources than ever before," he said.
"The Clarke Creek Wind and Solar Farm project will help us solve global challenges that are impacting on Queensland.
"We've got an electricity network that predates rooftop solar, we've got alternative fuels charging in, but what's really impacting on Queensland is our exposure to international markets for fossil fuels like gas and coal, which are disrupting our own local supply chains and increasing prices right here at home.
"If we can supply more of our own energy made in Queensland, we can put downward pressure on prices, and that's really important."
Mr de Brenni said the renewable energy projects would deliver energy security and energy independence for families and businesses.
"Central Queensland will be at the heart of Australia's push towards that," he said.
"It's exciting that this region is really positioning itself as the number one global hydrogen superpower."
On the topic of green hyrdogen energy, Minister de Brenni said the Palaszczuk government supported the idea of a green hydrogen gas reserve for Queensland.
"We've already exported small amounts of green hydrogen on a trial basis to places like Japan, and we're working with our international trade partners in both Japan and South Korea," Mr de Brenni said.
"We expect that by the end of the decade, we will be exporting large volumes of Queensland-made green hydrogen to those energy-hungry nations.
"That's really good for our domestic industry as well because we know that one of the best applications for green hydrogen is in our heavy transport sector.
"This is really about connecting regional Queensland to our major trading partners so that producers can get their stock to market with clean energy sources."
Mr de Brenni said the government was working through a whole range of policy settings on green hydrogen, but said it was still early days.
"When it comes to the future of green hydrogen and how much we have here domestically, we're determined to make sure that energy remains affordable," he said.
"We've got adequate supply of gas here in Queensland, but that doesn't mean that it's any cheaper than it is overseas.
"Blunt instruments like gas reservation doesn't actually deliver cheaper prices.
"If we can make sure that we've got domestic supply that is owned by Queensland companies, supplying to Queenslanders, that's the best way of keeping prices affordable."
Callide Power Station C4 update
Minister de Brenni also provided an update on the Callide Power Station's unit C4 recovery, which he said is on track for restoration at the end of the first quarter in 2023.
"I've seen the latest updates from the manufacture and we're confident that it will be delivered," he said,
"It's really important that we get that unit back in operation.
"We need around three times the amount of energy over the next decade or so than we have today."